November 26. On this date in 2006, the UHJ wrote Kalimát Press that "you have for many years pursued an ideological agenda which is at variance with the spirit and interests of the Bahá’í Faith."

 

November 26. On this date in 2006, the UHJ wrote Kalimát Press that "you have for many years pursued an ideological agenda which is at variance with the spirit and interests of the Bahá’í Faith."

Letter from the Universal House of Justice to Kalimat, 2006

26 November 2006

Dear Bahá’í Friend,

Your email letter dated 5 September 2006 has reached the Universal House of Justice, which has asked us to reply as follows. The letter indicates that you have written out of a desire to resolve the difficulty for Kalimát Press arising from the recent decision of your National Spiritual Assembly that Bahá’í agencies in the United States are no longer to distribute books published or handled by the company. Your stated purpose for writing is to find a way “to restore good relations” with national communities whose National Assemblies have taken a similar decision.

The House of Justice sees that at the core of the National Assembly’s action is its concern that you have for many years pursued an ideological agenda which is at variance with the spirit and interests of the Bahá’í Faith; and Kalimát Press has been used as an instrument in its promotion. Bahá’í institutions have attempted in various ways to apprise you of this concern, but to no avail. The House of Justice understands that the National Assembly felt there was no choice but to opt for the action it took. It has not imposed administrative sanctions on you.

You are well aware that it has not banned books. Bahá’ís are, of course, free, as are their fellow citizens, to acquire books as they wish from sources available to them within or outside the Bahá’í community. Nor is the question of prepublication review at issue here. The Assembly has simply concluded that, as agencies in its jurisdiction are under no obligation to distribute books other than those published by Bahá’í institutions, it is inappropriate that they should be the retailers of material from Kalimát Press and thus aid your agenda. The House of Justice finds that the National Assembly is justified in reaching this conclusion and upholds its decision in the matter.

In our letter of 3 August 1999 addressed to you on behalf of the House of Justice, relevant issues were discussed lovingly, openly and amply, but you have until now disregarded the counsel it conveyed; and you have done so even when you were subsequently reminded of the importance of the letter’s contents. You are urged once again to consider the advice you have already received.

You may be assured that the House of Justice will supplicate on your behalf at the Holy Threshold.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

Department of the Secretariat

cc: National Assembly of the United States